That Buzzing Sound? Visiting Candidates Swarm New Hampshire's Small Businesses

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) (C) is given a tour of Globe Manufacturing by President and CEO Don Welch before holding a town hall event with employees. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Apparently, there aren't enough businesses in New Hampshire to support all of the presidential candidates campaigning in the state. On Tuesday afternoon, I sent an email asking for an interview with Don Welch, president of Globe Manufacturing Company in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, and the past chair of the state's Business and Industry Association. I was hoping Welch might introduce me to business owners in New Hampshire for a series of election-season profiles that will begin appearing shortly in this space.

His response came Wednesday morning. "Thanks for reaching out," he wrote. "We have candidates visiting our plant here in NH this morning and tomorrow morning. So it is a busy time." When I finally got a chance to speak with Welch I learned that not only did he host Marco Rubio on Wednesday, and Jeb Bush on Thursday, but Chris Christie stopped in the week before.

In New Hampshire, it seems any business with even a hint of backstory can score a candidate visit in election season. Michael Fairbrother, who turned his flair for fermenting honey into mead into a million-dollar enterprise, with 14 employees, hosted former New York governor George Pataki early in the cycle, even though Fairbrother hasn't voted Republican decades. ("His people called and asked if they can meet with me and talk to me," Fairbrother says. "I'll talk to anybody about the challenges small businesses face, and he at least listened." We'll here much more from Fairbrother in the next couple days.)

Globe makes, right here in America, coats and boots for firefighters and rescuers. The company employs 325 people in Pittsfield, and just over 100 more in two other factories in Maine and Oklahoma. Better still, Globe has been in business since 1887, and owned by the same family since 1901. (Welch, who's worked for the company for almost 30 years, married into the family.) What politician wouldn't want to bask in that?

Last year, the company was turning down campaign requests for factory tours, Welch says, "just because it is so disruptive." A visit usually lasts two hours, and the company actually shuts down production for a half-hour or 45 minutes so employees can hear the pitch. The company, says Welch, operates some proprietary equipment, and runs the risk that pictures of that machinery will end up in the papers or on TV. But as the voting drew closer, employees became more engaged, and management had a change of heart. "What we decided this time was to limit it to three candidates," says Welch. "And the first three happened to be Bush and Christie, and then Rubio."

Campaign visits march to a fairly established rhythm, says Welch. "Typically, they arrive and we have a very quick meet and greet with the owners and our key managers, 15 people or so, and give them some background on the company." Next comes the factory tour, which inevitably involves trying on a personalized jacket before ending up in the cafeteria. "We bring all our employees – and we pay them – and the candidates speak for 15 or 20 minutes, and then they take questions for 15 or 20 minutes." After more handshakes, and some photos, it's on to the next event.

Globes makes no endorsements, but its managers recognize that hosting a candidate could be confused for one. The fact that all three visitors were Republicans, Welch says, speaks more to the campaigns' interests than the company's. "Some employees had asked if Democrat candidates could come, and that would've been fine." But the Republicans called first.